Last Updated on April 29, 2021 by CCAR Staff
A Fallbrook man died Tuesday, April 27, after a three-car crash on Highway 74 in Riverside County near Meadowbrook, southwest of Perris, the California Highway Patrol said.
At around 3:47 p.m., a Mercedes-Benz was pulling out from the parking lot at La Guadalupana Produce Market on Ethanac Road heading west onto Highway 74 when a Toyota Camry was heading east on the highway at about 55 mph. As the Mercedes-Benz moved through the eastbound lanes, the Toyota attempted to avoid the Mercedes-Benz with an evasive maneuver but ultimately collided with it, the CHP said.
The Toyota then collided head-on with a Honda Civic heading west on Highway 74 at about 55 mph, the CHP said. The CHP responded along with the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department and fire personnel pronounced the driver of the Honda dead at the scene.
The Honda’s driver was identified as 26-year-old Gabriel Nieto Ruiz, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s Office.
The driver of the Toyota, a 19-year-old Perris man, suffered a broken right leg and was hospitalized. The driver of the Mercedes-Benz, a 28-year-old Moreno Valley woman, was uninjured, the CHP said.
Any motorists who may have observed the crash were urged to contact the CHP at 951-506-2000.
